Snake Handling

Snakes are very active in the summer. About 100 Australian snakes are venomous, although only 12 are likely to inflict a wound that could kill you. This article is to prepare you in the event of a snake sighted and/or any snake-related incidents within the Unidus premises.

What to do when a snake is sighted on the Unidus property:

When a snake is sighted on the Unidus premise, the customer/visitor is advised to alert a Unidus staff member and vacate the area that the snake was sighted at.

Do not attempt to catch or kill a snake. It is illegal to kill a snake in Australia under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. And most snakebites occur when in attempts to catch or kill a snake.

Unidus staff shall contact the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service on 1300 130 372 and follow the prompts to remove the snake.

Quickly remove all staff, customers, and visitors from the area and isolate the area where the snake was sighted in a calm and logical manner. Note the location of the snake for its removal.

Set up cones to isolate the area and prevent people from entering the isolated area where the snake is located.

What to do in the event of snakebites?

Call 000 for an ambulance

Alert a Unidus staff

Reduce the injured person movement by asking them to lie down.

The purpose is to retard the movement of venom from the bite site into the circulation, thus “buying time” for the patient to reach medical care.

There is no requirement to identify the snake as physicians may be able to identify the type of snake from residual venom on the skin

Customer/visitor may implement the Pressure Immobilisation Technique if they are familiar with this technique. This should be done for arms and legs only. Otherwise, do not touch the injured area.

Do not restrict chest movement.

Do not cut or excise the bitten or stung area.

Do not apply an arterial tourniquet.

Do not wash the bitten or stung area. The type of snake involved may be identified by the detection of venom on the skin.